'The line centered by Scott Gomez, which includes Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta, was once again a force. Elias had two goals and three assists. Gionta had two goals and an assist, and Gomez had three assists. The line has 11 goals and 15 assists in three games.'

'Martin Biron replaced Noronen, who allowed six goals on 26 shots, but the Devils wasted little time in scoring again. Jeff Friesen did some figure skating in the left circle before his pass deflected off Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell and into the net at 3:07.'

'“I thought we were poor everywhere,'' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We were poor defensively. Our goaltending wasn't up to par. When you have only one line that was in on the scoring, then you don't win.'''

'"There's some improvements to do," the 23-year-old said. "I need to get defensively a little bit better, play maybe a little harder. It's not always perfect, but you try and you try, and sometimes you get rewarded. It's never enough. You have to keep going, keep going, never stop. I just want to be the best player you can be, the whole season long, all the time."'

'"We thought in a couple days it'd calm down, but it's still affecting him," said Ruff, who hinted if Briere can't dress he'd move Curtis Brown up from the fourth line to skate with left wing Jochen Hecht and right wing Miroslav Satan. "That's a huge loss for us, but we can move Curtis up the lineup if Danny isn't able to play. There's still a chance he could."'

'The first time I was here, I went from being someone who really was never involved in public things, and it was a controversial time. I was getting thrown into the swimming pool and learning how to swim. Now, I just don't take it too personally. And I don't take it seriously. Business is serious, but I don't think my role in it is necessarily serious. It's not my identity. It's not who I am. It's a great community resource, so I think the resource is more important than my individual role."'

'With the NHL trade deadline approaching, this week my producer Mike Courtney and I have collaborated to propose a few trades that we think would bolster the Sabres for a stretch drive toward the playoffs.'